Discussion
6.3 Future research
Engaging the older age group to reduce meat consumption for environmental sustainability was problematic. Possibly because environmental threats may have little direct impact on those over 65 (depending on their life span), which could indicate a different type of information may be required for this age group. Health benefits were given as a reason by the older age group to reduce meat consumption, which is indicative of a normal concern for health as one age‟s, however it also suggests that for this age group, a reduction in meat consumption was viewed from a personal perspective, making environmentally sustainable choices based on environmental information alone, more challenging. Combining environmental benefits with health benefits may be more efficacious. This is an area which is increasingly being examined (Boer et al, 2012), and has putatively shown to be more effective with the older age groups. Because of their age, the younger age cohorts will experience more direct effects of climate change over the coming years, perhaps as a consequence, they were more receptive to the information. It‟s possible that the participant in the 16 to 21 year old age group, who noted a willingness to reduce meat consumption in order to contribute to a more sustainable “ecosystem”, may in fact be subconsciously acknowledging that because they still have many years to live on this planet, sustainability is of greater direct concern than it is for those in the 65+ year age group. Shown here is that tailoring information on environmental harm caused by livestock production towards specific age groups is likely to produce better outcomes. Thus, it may be that efforts are better spent on educating younger people whilst they remain open to new information, and more accepting of scientific knowledge. It‟s also possible they may be better positioned to influence older family members in a more persuasive manner, than the provision of information alone. Further research that takes different age cohorts into account, and looks at what combinations of information might resonate more strongly across different ages, would be a fruitful avenue for further research.
84 Social media platforms can provide a cost effective method of information delivery about the environmental implications of meat production. However we now live in a world where information is instantly, and abundantly available, much of it claiming to be right, although much of it specious, which can lead to scepticism towards all information. The growing scepticism of online information must be considered, providing reliable, factual information is crucial. Social media is a factor worth future consideration when thinking about the role it could play in informing people and changing practices.
Lastly, time constraints in place when undertaking this research (along with some challenges in finding willing participants for the older age group), meant that changes measured across time in meat consumption could only be gauged across a period of between 6 and 8 weeks from the focus group discussion through to when the second food logs were completed. Looking toward a more longitudinal research approach, and one that perhaps incorporates further informational interventions, would be a worthy undertaking in order to better understand which motivators work for different people, over a longer time frame.
6.4 Summary
Defining environmental sustainability often encompasses economic sustainability. However, environmental sustainability will have to take precedence if we are to adequately feed our quickly approaching over-populated planet (if we haven‟t already exceeded carrying capacity), whereby food security will be at the forefront of all decisions. I anticipate foods with little or no nutritional value will no longer be acceptable, and food labels stating ingredients, nutritional worth, how much water, and land were used, along with carbon emissions needed to produce each product, will be required. This would challenge producers to be ever searching for high nutritional value food, with low finite resource usage, and low carbon emissions. Our meat consumption has environmental consequences, despite not always being immediately observable. Awareness that individual actions can have practical effects in slowing the Earth‟s anthropogenic rising temperature is essential. Despite a noticeable reluctance by governments to implement environmentally sustainable policies around meat production, strong support was indicated by research participants for government involvement. However, in the absence of government
85 policy, individual environmental responsibility will have to progress at a greater pace to that of the population growth, if we are to contain and ultimately mitigate the environmental harm from livestock production. Reliable information from trustworthy sources is the first step; however, for the 65+ year age group, and despite their belief in individual efficacy, the strength of their antecedents was a barrier to accepting the information. For them, growing up when livestock farming was largely innocuous to the environment was saliently connected to their image of livestock production. Furthermore, purely because of their age, they may anticipate environmental harm is likely to have less direct impact on them. However, the growing frequency of erratic weather events can affect anyone at any time.
Developed and rapidly developing nations‟ appetite for meat has made us reckless with our environment. We can no longer ignore the catastrophic effects of environmental harm caused by livestock production, nor can we rely on science alone to rectify the harm. I argue that urgent individual action is required, and whilst there are many complexities involved in understanding climate change and the processes involved in changing a practice, the solution does not need to be complex; we simply need to reduce our meat consumption.
It is reductive to claim information alone can result in action, for that would mean ignoring the multifaceted social and psychological considerations that must be taken into account when looking at how normalised social practices might be altered. Nonetheless, information remains the genesis of change and the formation of moral action.
86
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